The Map of the Sky: A Novel [Hardcover]

Felix J Palma (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 4, 2012

The New York Times bestselling author of The Map of Time returns with a mesmerizing novel casting H.G. Wells in a leading role, as the extraterrestrial invasion featured in The War of the Worlds is turned into a bizarre reality.

A love story serves as backdrop for The Map of the Sky when New York socialite Emma Harlow agrees to marry millionaire Montgomery Gilmore, but only if he accepts her audacious challenge: to reproduce the extraterrestrial invasion featured in Wells’s War of the Worlds. What follows are three brilliantly interconnected plots to create a breathtaking tale of time travel and mystery, replete with cameos by a young Edgar Allan Poe, and Captain Shackleton and Charles Winslow from The Map of Time.

     Praised for “lyrical storytelling and a rich attention to detail,” (Library Journal, starred review), Palma again achieves the high standard set by The Map of Time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The unreal becomes real, fantasy becomes history, and the reader is thoroughly entertained by an unending parade of bafflements and surprises. This book is a complete delight.” (K.W. Jeter author of Infernal Devices)

“"The Map of the Sky" keeps the reader guessing, checking and thinking, all the while providing many sidelights on the literary history of sci-fi itself.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“This story is much akin to what Orson Welles tried on Halloween, 1938, with his radio show. This time the saucers really fly. All this, simmered in a rich broth of keen imagination, exceptional narrative control, wit, and an obvious affection for sci-fi and adventure stories and with great respect for the readers of same. Cool factor: 3-D end papers. Glasses included with first editions only.” (Tulsa World)

"A cross-genre masterpiece" (Associated Press)

“Having used H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine as the starting point for 2011’s The Map of Time, Palma now takes The War of the Worlds as the basis for this top-notch sequel…Fans of intelligent science fiction as well as historical thrillers will be rewarded.” (Publisher's Weekly starred review)

“Palma's gorgeous prose works its magic yet again...in this worthy successor to The Map of Time.” (Library Journal)

“Palma writes with shrewdness and glee.” (The Washington Post)

“Palma keeps the reader guessing, and the twists and turns coming.” (Booklist)

About the Author

Félix J. Palma has been unanimously acclaimed by critics as one of the most brilliant and original storytellers of our time. The Map of Time was his first book published in the United States. He lives in Spain.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; First U.S. Edition edition (September 4, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451660316
• ISBN-13: 978-1451660319
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A master of misdirection September 5, 2012

By Susan Tunis TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Those who read Felix J. Palma's The Map of Time are well aware of the author's hijinks and trickery. Be forewarned, he is again up to his clever tricks--though not, perhaps, exactly the ones we've seen before. No, this is a writer who will keep readers on their toes!

So, about The Map of Time... You should read it before you even think of picking up this book. For a long while, I thought it would be unnecessary, but as I got deeper into the novel, it became obvious that you'd be missing much without having read the first volume in the trilogy. And if The Map of Time is Palma's homage to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, then The Map of the Sky is his homage to The War of the Worlds (as well as other early science fiction classics).

This second volume is similarly structured. It's told by the same omnipotent narrator about whom I desperately hope to learn more in the final volume! This unnamed voice is a major presence in the story he tells, with remarks like: "What happens next is hard to describe. Perhaps a more seasoned narrator would have no difficulty--I am thinking of Wilde or Dumas--but unfortunately it falls to me." And, "I hope you will forgive me for having left our hero in such a delicate situation; think of it as my homage to the serialized novels of the time." Yes, that kind of intrusiveness can grow precious, but Palma walks a delicate balance and really pulls this device (as well as the literary equivalent of breaking of the fourth wall) off terrifically well.

Also like the prior novel, The Map of the Sky is told in three parts, each of which is a distinct, but linked story. And again, author H.G. Wells, plays a role in each. The dire events of this novel are kicked off innocuously enough, as Wells meets an American hack writer for a liquid lunch. When his counterpart offers to show him a real Martian, how can Wells resist? The story rapidly moves from the preserved specimen in the British Museum to the events many years earlier that led to the collection of the museum specimen. This first section is a harrowing tale of Antarctic adventure.

The second section of the novel brings Wells back to the center of the story, and reintroduces a character from the last book in a new guise. Identity is a tricky business in this novel. It's that magician's misdirection; never assume you know who anyone really is. Oh, that Palma is a delight! The second part of the novel involves a Martian invasion of London much as Wells wrote in his novel a year prior. This alone makes him suspect and brings a Scotland Yard inspector into the tale. But what at first appears to be a hoax quickly turns far darker than expected. Always Palma defies expectations.

The third part of the novel takes place two years later, and here the story again revisits a secondary character from The Map of Time. In this section, his tale is the center of the story, but it serves to move the whole narrative towards its terrifically satisfying and pitch-perfect conclusion.

If the novel has a weakness, it is that at 608 pages, it may be a tad overwritten. I think this is largely due to Palma's writing in Victorian style. Why use 100 words when you can use a 1,000? Despite the occasional excess, the story moves along rapidly and it was torture to put the book down. The one other criticism I'd noted after reading more than half the novel was a failure to connect with the characters emotionally in more than a superficial sense. Well, Palma had me eating those words, and in the latter part of the novel he delivered big time.

This trilogy has proven to be a pure delight. Mr. Palma has left ample clues about which of Wells' novels will be featured in the final volume, so I've got some reading to do before next summer. I can't wait to see what he delivers next.

And finally, I will leave you with a quotation, completely out of context, just because I like it so much:

"Grieving for the death of beauty is a very human idiosyncrasy. Do you know, Mr. Wells, when a star dies, the light from it goes on traveling through space for thousands and thousands of years? The universe remembers for a very long time whatever dies, but it doesn't grieve. It is natural for things to die. Yet I'll grieve for you when you're gone, for the beauty you are capable of creating, sometimes unconsciously. I'm sorry I can't offer you greater solace, the solace a priest offers his flock. But all of us are subject to the laws of the cosmos."

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A transcendent final 50 pages can't rescue the 500 previous pages December 11, 2012

By Maine Colonial TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As with its predecessor, The Map of Time, The Map of the Sky is a story told in three interrelated parts and is based on an H.G. Wells book. The first time around, it was The Time Machine, and this time its The War of the Worlds. Wells himself plays a character in these books, along with a cast of other, mostly fictional, characters; in particular, time-travel charlatan Gilliam Murray, the enigmatic Captain Derek Shackleton, and young man-about-town Charles Winslow.

The first book in Palma's planned trilogy, The Map of Time, was an engaging, ambitious time-travel thriller that I enjoyed thoroughly. It would be best to read this before reading The Map of the Sky, but not absolutely essential.

The Map of the Sky is an adventure story of the crew of a 19th-century exploration ship ice-bound in the Antarctic, a Martian invasion of London and Murray's clumsy attempts to win a hard-headed American woman named Emma. Palma melds real and fictional characters, fantasy, time travel, science, literature, history and romance. Palma clearly knows his stuff and has a terrific imagination, as he proved in his first book, but I found the translation of all of his ideas to the page didn't work this time around.

Palma's characters are flat and largely unappealing, which is a particular problem with Murray and Emma in the romance thread. Palma showed in his first book that he had some weaknesses in characterization, but it's far worse this time around. While his first book could have used some editing, this one cries out for the red pencil. His writing is bloated, leading to a novel that is way longer than necessary and has no sense of pace. The descriptions of the many fight/battle scenes are so drawn-out and repetitive that they're drained of any drama or excitement. The Charles Winslow character repeats himself constantly and is especially tiresome when it never seems to have crossed his mind that Mr. Murray's time-travel business is a sham. If his dim-wittedness was supposed to be funny, that escaped me.

On top of that, there are gruesome and gross-out scenes literally ad nauseam. Multiple scenes of evisceration, people being forced to eat unspeakable food, swimming through sewers, horrific human experimentation. This is all so difficult to take that there needs to be something truly excellent to make it worthwhile. But there isn't, until you get to the final 50 pages, where Palma suddenly elevates his game, bringing a depth, meaning, spirit and joy to the story. If only he had done the same throughout the book. As it is, though, I can't recommend slogging through 90% of a long book for a transcendent last 10%. I seem to be in a minority in my view of the book, so I hope I've been clear enough about my problems with it to help potential readers.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Obnoxious book December 29, 2012

By Christy Writes

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I almost immediately regretted my decision to buy this book (I really need to start using my library membership again). My biggest problem with this book is the use of the omniscient narrator (not my favorite style, though it can work). I felt that I was stepping into some kind of circus sideshow, with the grandiose announcer-style narration. The thing is, it never let up and I began to feel that Palma was patronizing his readers.

I was, also, put off by the prominent role that H.G. Wells played in the story. I don’t mind the presence of historical figures in well written stories, as long as they aren’t too integral to the central storyline. (Deborah Harkness does this nicely in her book, Shadow of Night). I probably wouldn’t have read it at all if the blurb was more honest about Wells' role.

Another major flaw: the length. I enjoy and prefer long books as long as they are interesting. This book was so wordy that it quickly became a tedious read.

On the plus side, the language and imagery was beautiful and I enjoyed the Victorian style of writing. The cover art is a reader magnet, for sure. Occasionally, I would begin to look forward to what would happen next and there were times that I found myself wondering if I might change my mind about the book, but I'm afraid Palma's story was not consistent enough to convert me.

Overall, I found that the story was just all over the place and there is no forgiving the use of such an obnoxious narrator. This book has encouraged me to reevaluate my screening process of the books that find their way to my shelf